


ED-E, My Love

by Dusty_Forgotten



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Courier is Lone Wanderer, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-16
Updated: 2014-02-16
Packaged: 2018-01-12 14:47:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1189107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dusty_Forgotten/pseuds/Dusty_Forgotten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The courier loves her robot, and she realizes she doesn't want the Brotherhood to take him from her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	ED-E, My Love

“Are you fucking kidding me!?” Erin yelled. She recognized those vending machines; the side panels were still hanging open. “I just made one giant circle!”

Normally, Courier Six would just retrace her steps looking for another door, but the blaring alarm was giving her a headache. She let out a frustrated growl and stomped past the destroyed or deactivated Sentrybots and facial-recognition Mr. Handys.

“This is bullshit! I fix a little busted-up eyebot, and suddenly he’s a party-line! All I wanted was a pet!”

She tried a door handle she missed, found it locked, and promptly kicked it in; she was too impatient for lockpicking right now. It was just a supply closet, but she searched every toolbox anyway.

“It’s okay, honey,” Lily responded, “grandma will buy you a puppy.”

“But I don’t want a puppy!” she whined. “Puppies need regular training and a schedule- ED-E just needs a new part every few months and he’s fairly self-sufficient.” She stuffed a few bottle-caps into her pocket and moved down the hall. “Besides, ED-E’s durable. He can get blown to bits, and as long as I find the motherboard, I can bring him back. Dogs get hurt, and limp for the rest of their lives, like Dogmeat...”

She trailed off, surveyed for enemies or doors, and hissed at the alarm again. “Why does the Brotherhood of Steel want him anyways!? He’s just a standard eyebot with a couple bumper stickers and logs from when his programmer left the mic on. Doesn’t exactly count as ‘old world tech’.”

The Enclave remnant beeped twice- _hostile nearby_. Erin dropped into a crouch as Lily activated her Stealthboy. _Funny,_  she wondered, _I thought I cleared this place._

A maintenance robot floated by, and Erin Holt quickly snuck up behind, popped off the backplate with her flathead screwdriver, and yanked a few wires. It dropped, inert, to the tile. She briefly mused why no one ever thought to put sensors on the back of a robot. She’d have to refit ED-E sometime.

“Where was I? Oh, yeah. The Enclave is-was- working with tech way above Brotherhood understanding. Not that ED-E’s some world-breaking enigma- I fixed him with a broken radio for fuck’s sake- but any real info he’s carrying is probably encrypted to hell.”

“What was that last bit, dear? I couldn’t hear you.”

Erin growled, snatched her 10mm off her belt, and shot the alarm speaker they were passing by. It sparked and died. “I said I don’t want the Brotherhood to touch him. Not like they can; they’re not even here! The fuck that hacked ED-E told me to bring him to a patrol here, but I haven’t seen a drained microfusion cell yet! I swear, if they’re not here- or worse, dead- I’m going to case the place in C-4 and blow it off the fucking map.”

They continued retracing past steps, Erin shooting every siren they located. The trio was quiet for a while, until the courier eliminated the last speaker and holstered her pistol- her trusty pistol, the pistol she carried out of the vault, across the country, then into (and out of) the grave.

“...I think I’m starting to dislike the Brotherhood.”

“That’s fine, dearie. You don’t have to like everyone.” Lily rasped.

“But I should be thankful! The Brotherhood of Steel has done so much for me. They helped me find my father, fight the Enclave, purify the lake; they brought me back from the dead! The first time, that is... I can’t help but think I should be grateful to those sons of bitches.”

“Come here, honey. Let grandma give you a hug.”

“Don’t squish me...” the brunette warned as she snuggled into the nightkin’s chest.

“Listen to old grandma. You don’t owe them a _thing_.”

“But-”

“No ‘buts’. You’re a good girl, Erin. A very good girl. You do such nice things for so many people, even people that are mean to you. You don’t have to be nice to everyone.”

The twenty-three-year-old’s arms wrapped as well as they could around the supermutant and squeezed. “I liked the Enclave.” she confessed. “They seemed like good people, and they had one of the two real radio stations in DC. I would have been on their side, until they abducted me. They wanted me to poison the water. A special poison that would only kill ghouls and mutants. I almost did. The only supermutant I found in DC with his brain left got the GECK for me. There would be no clean water without him.”

Lily began brushing back Erin’s greasy hair as gently as she could, which still made her knees bend under the pressure. She didn’t seem to mind.

“His name’s Fawkes. I hope he’s still alive...” she sucked in a sharp breath. “They killed my dad. He only wanted to help the wasteland, and they killed him! I hate the Enclave, I hate the Enclave, I hate the Encla-ave!”

Her voice began to crack. Lily only held her. She was nearly crying, but no tears leaked. She did draw in a long breath through her nose, mucus rattling. “...I miss my dad.”

“I know, honey... I miss Jimmy.”

Erin’s reddened eyes flickered open as she pulled away. “Holy shit.”

“What?”

“Your grandson’s name is Jimmy. My dad’s name is James.” She smiled around watery eyes and burst into laughter; Lily soon joined. “I guess that makes me your great-granddaughter!”

She most likely wasn’t; James Holt was born in DC. At least, she thought so. It wouldn’t be the first he’d lied about family history. Still, it was a nice sentiment.

“Alright,” the courier stated, pulling herself together, “let’s find some assholes in power armor.”


End file.
